Eye mounting for dolls



y 1936' N. PAGANE LLO 2,040,329

EYE MOUNTING For: DOLLS Filed April 20, 1935 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented May 12, 1936 PATENT OFFICE UNITED STATES 5 Claims.

1 This invention relates to improvements in eye mountings for dolls; and more particularly to a structure wherein the eyeballs frictionally engage the walls of the sockets and are yieldingly supported therein.

One object of the inventionis to provide an eye mounting having relatively few parts, of simple and inexpensive construction, in which the eyeballs may be readily and quickly positioned in their sockets without the exercise of a high degree of skilled labor.

' Another object of the invention is to provide a guide for. directing the eye carrying shaft, prior to the positioning of the eyeballs in'the sockets, which guide is permanently secured to the dolls head immediately after the head is molded and before the head is painted or completely finished. Another object is to'provide a guide and retainer which is malleable so as to be bent in one direction after the eyeballs and its shaft are positioned, thereby preventing the mounting from becoming unintentionally displaced, which guide may also be bent in a reverse direction to permit the removal of the eyeballs and shaft.

Another object is to provide certain improvements in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts whereby the above named and other objects may effectively be attained.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the which Fig..l represents a vertical section of a dolls head looking toward the front interior wall and showing my improved eye mounting applied thereto; v

Fig. 2 represents a vertical section taken in the plane of the line IIII of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows v Fig. 3' represents a horizontal section taken in the plane of the line III-III of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 represents a detail vertical section similar to that shown in Fig. 2, showing the parts in another position; and I Fig. 5 represents a perspective view of the guide and retainer.

The dolls head is denoted by I and the front wall by 2. The front wall 2 is provided with the usual spaced eye sockets '3, 4 properly located with respect to the nose and other molded features of the head. The eye sockets are formed with the usual interior curve adapted to receive the semi-sphericaleye's '5', 6 of any well-known and approved construction. The eye carrying device comprises a. horizontally disposed shaft I,

accompanying drawing, in

upon the opposite ends of which are secured the semi-spherical eyes 5, 6, which may be adjusted rotatably and longitudinally thereon in any manner well-known in the art.

A counter-balance 8 is fixed to the shaft I by 5 means of depending arms 9, I0 spaced apart and adjacent the eyes 5, 6. The arms 9, I0 are also extended above the shaft 1 to form stops l2, I3 which serve to limit the rotary movement of the shaft I in one direction. The eyes 5, 6 are held 10 in engagement with their respective sockets by means of an element ll formed of a relatively fiat thin strip of sheet metal having one end fixed to the interior wall of the head by any well-known and approved fastening means, in the 15 present instance, I employ a bifurcated rivet I4, the head l5 of which being cemented or otherwise secured in a recess [6 formed in the head. The prongs I! of the rivet are disposed to extend through a hole I8 in the end of the element 20 and be bent in opposite directions to retain the element in position on the head. The element I I is arranged in the head so as to extend downwardly between the arms 9, I0 and stops l2, I3. The lower end of the element l I is developed into 25 an elongated recess 19 which is arranged to engage the shaft I between the arms 9, In so that the eyes 5, 6 will contact with the sockets and oscillate therein. This elongated recess I9 is designed to allow the shaft 1 to be positioned 30 therein and compensate for slight differences in the position of the sockets in the head, as well as allow a vertical movement of the shaft.

In order that the shaft I may receive proper and suflicient resiliency to maintain the eyes in 35 their sockets so that they will roll easily and smoothly; I provide a fairly stiff flat strip of resilient metal 20, one end of which is secured in contact with the fixed end of the element I I, while the other end is arranged to engage the 40 free upwardly turned end 2| of the element II. This upwardly turned end 2| of the element is spaced rearwardly from and directly in vertical alinement with the rear of the recess I9. Thus, it will be'seen that the continuous pressure ap- 45 plied to the element II by the resilient strip 20 will be transferred through the wall of the recess 19 to the shaft I which, in turn, holds the eyes in contact with their respective sockets. To prevent the displacement of the eyes in their sockets, 50 such as might be caused by suddenly jarring the head, or by the eyes being pushed inwardly from the front, I provide a member having two arms 22 formed of wire or other similar malleable metal spaced apart and arranged to extend rearwardly and upwardly from the interior wall of the head.

The member is preferably formed of a single piece of wire bent at 23 to form a bight which is fixed in a recess 24 in the front interior wall of the head substantially to the rear of the nose portion, by cement or other cementitious material. The arms 22 are curved so as to be substantially concentric with and spaced from the shaft 1 when the eyes are positioned in their sockets. The distance between the ends of the curved arms and the upper interior edges 25 of each of the sockets is less than the distance between the outer surface of the eyes and the shaft 1, so that the eyes cannot unintentionally leave the sockets entirely, but will always be so positioned that they may be returned to the sockets by the resilient strip 2|] and element II, when displaced.

In Fig. 4 I have shown the manner of assembling the eye shaft and eyes in their sockets, and, it will be seen that the ends of the arms 22 are spaced from the interior walls of the head, so that the shaft may pass therebetween and still leave a sufficient distance for the exterior surface of the eyes to pass the upper edges 25 of the sockets when they are moved downwardly in position to enter the sockets. In the initial movement of the shaft in assembling the eyes in the head, the shaft will first be brought into contact with the curved exterior edges of the arms 22 and between the curved lower end 26 of the element II, as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 4. In the further upward movement the shaft will ride on the curved exterior edges of the arms 22 until it passes from the ends thereof. The shaft 7 is then brought downwardly along the interior edges of the curved arms until it is located in the recess IQ of the element H, in which position the eyes 5, 6 will enter their respective sockets 3, 4 in the head. After the eyes are located in their sockets, the free ends of the curved arms 22 are slightly bent toward the front to the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and

3, in which position the shaft cannot unintentionally be removed from the arms nor the eyes permanently displaced from their sockets.

If it is desired to remove the shaft and eyes from the head, it is only necessary to bend the upper ends of the curved arms 22 rearwardly so as to open the space between the interior wall of the head and the arms, as shown in Fig. 4, through which opening the shaft can be passed.

It is understood that various changes may be resorted to in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; and hence, I do not intend to be limited to the details herein shown and described except as they may be included in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a dolls head having eye sockets therein, a horizontally disposed shaft, semi-spherical eyes secured on said shaft in position to oscillate in said sockets, a resilient element having its upper end fixed in the head and the lower end being provided with an elongated recess adapted to engage the shaft for yieldingly holding the eyes in their sockets and adapted to permit longitudinal adjustment of the shaft and eyes, said lower end of the element below said recess being curved outwardly from the head, and an independent means .for guiding the shaft under the curved end of the element and the eyes into operative position when being assembled, said means being normally spaced from the shaft when in operative position and also adapted to be bent inwardly to prevent the shaft and eyes from becoming unintentionally displaced.

2. In combination with a dolls head having eye sockets therein, a horizontally disposed shaft, semi-spherical eyes secured on said shaft in position to oscillate in said sockets, a resilient element having its upper end fixed to the head and its lower end curved outwardly and free to engage the shaft for yieldingly holding the eyes in their sockets, and means comprising a piece of wire bent to form a bight secured to the head and having upwardly and outwardly curved arms spaced apart from said bight for guiding the shaft under the curved free end of the element and the eyes into operative position when being assembled.

3. ,In combination with a dolls head having eye sockets therein, a horizontally disposed shaft, semi-spherical eyes secured on said shaft in position to oscillate in said sockets, a resilient element having its upper end fixed to the head and its lower end curved outwardly and free to engage the shaft for yieldingly holding the eyes in their sockets, and meanscomprising a piece of wire bent to form a bight secured to the head and having upwardly and outwardly curved arms spaced apart from said bight for guiding the shaft under the curved free end of the element and the eyes into operative position when being assembled, said arms being adapted to be bent inwardly to prevent the shaft and eyes from becoming unintentionally displaced.

4. In combination with a dolls head having eye sockets therein, a horizontally disposed shaft, semi-spherical eyes secured on said shaft in position to oscillate in said sockets, a resilient element having its upper end fixed to the head and its lower end curved outwardly and free to engage the shaft for yieldingly holding the eyes in their sockets, and means comprising a piece of wire bent to form a bight secured to the head and having upwardly and outwardly curved arms spaced apart from said bight for guiding the shaft under the curved free end of the element and-the eyes into operative position whenbeing assembled, the interior of said arms being substantially concentric with and normally spaced from the shaft when in operative position.

5. In combinationwith a dolls head having eye sockets therein, a-horizontallydisposed shaft, semi-spherical eyes secured on said shaft in position to oscillate in said sockets, a resilient element having its upper end fixed to the head and its lower end curved outwardly and free to engage the shaft for yieldingly holding the eyes in their sockets, and means comprising a piece of wire bent to form a bight secured to the head and having upwardly and outwardly curved arms spaced apart from said bight and disposed to straddle the lower end of said resilient element for guiding the shaft and eyes into operative position when being assembled, the interior of said arms being substantially concentric with and normally spaced from the shaft when inoperative position, said .arms also being adapted to be bent inwardly to prevent the shaft and eyes from becoming unintentionally displaced.

NUNZIO PAGANELLO. 

